With the sun shining and the Mediterranean Sea surrounding us, sipping on sangrias (carbonated red wine mixed with fruit) by the beach has been the perfect way to end a backpacker’s journey around Europe.

The Magic Fountain

Although not as incredible as the Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas, the Magic Fountain in Plaza Espanya is an amazing centre piece for the city and brings hundreds (maybe even thousands) of tourists and locals together every Thursday to Sunday evening. The fountain is lit with bright colours and entertained by several songs throughout the night. At the background of the fountain is the National Museum of Art which has cascading waterfalls all the way down from the top of the hill. Luckily for us, we arrived in time on Sunday evening to catch the show! But after watching the grand fountain, it was obvious that Toronto seems to lack an attraction so simple but yet so appealing.

All it takes is a large projector screen…

Who knew that watching a movie outdoors on a mountain could be so entertaining! In fact, the experience was amazing and I could only wish that such culture could be brought back to Toronto. In Barcelona,they hold weekly Monday, Wednesday, and Friday screenings of movies on top of Mont Fujic and last night we watched Death Proof with a couple of travellers that we met on the Fat Tire Bike Tour. It was hilarious because the movie was played in English (with Spanish subtitles and we were the only ones laughing during the comedic parts! And although we had to walk up the mountain and back down again, (almost getting lost after the movie) being part of the culture was without a doubt worth every little bit it all!

Beach Bum (even in another country)

The beach here is beautiful and getting a full body massage while tanning for 10 Euros is even better! Not much to say about the beach except that I have gotten so dark that some of you will not recognize me. Belle likes to refer to me as her Indian friend, so be prepared to see a darker but hotter me (haha, I’m kidding)!

Over the past sixteen days of backpacking throughout Europe, I have made quite a few discoveries about myself. In fact, I have tested my tolerance and have learned a lot; both about myself and about different people, cultures, food, and so much more.

Unfortunately, you will have to stay tuned for that in-depth post upon my return to Toronto in a few days!

It’s 9:15am and Belle and I have finally gotten ready and packed again after waking at 7:30am this morning.  Our time here has been amazing so far… I wish I could tell all but I only have 10 minutes before we’re off to the Louvre and Musee D’Orsay for the day.

In the Air with President’s Choice

So who said airplane food wasn’t good? Flying on AirTransat from Toronto to Ottawa, and Ottawa then to Paris, we were fed President’s Choice curry chicken (haha I know, curry on a trip to Paris?).  Belle and I slept decently but while we were there we met a guy named Jean who was also travelling to Paris.  He told us about his adventures in Mexico, Australia.  The cool thing was that he was also in the Canadian Military and was being deported to Afghanistan in a few months!

Paris is Beautiful 

You haven’t seen Tour Eiffel until you’ve seen it in real life.  It’s absolutely stunning… and everywhere you turn there are couples in love (or making out).  In fact, we fell asleep on the grass staring at the Tour Eiffel two times in one day!  (:  We were also were frenchie yesterday, did I mention we had a bottle of win, bread and cheese for dinner?  Yum!

The Fat Bike Tour was amazing and fun too.  I don’t think I’ have ridden a bike since high school but I was still doing okay.  We passed by many attractions and the tour guide Marqus told us about the history and the significance of the all the places.  I wish I could show you pictures but you’re just going to have to wait for that!  Overall, the tour took about 4 hours to finish and tonight we are going to go on the night tour (:  It involves going to the best ice cream store and a cruise on the Seine river.   I’m so excited and ready to fall in love with the city all over again!

Change in Plans

So far so good except for one major thing that I skipped… our trip to Nice, France won’t be happening anymore.  When we got to the train station right from the airport, we didn’t realize that reserving overnight trains were important!  All the seats are booked and full price first class is too expensive!  We don’t know where or what we’re going to do for those two days because we don’t have hostels in Paris either!  We’ll keep you updated, but I guess this is the most amazing part of traveling with a half itinerary!

That’s it have to run now!